Effect of total pressure on the formation and size evolution of silicon quantum dots in silicon nitride films

The size of silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) embedded in silicon nitride (SiN(x)) has been controlled by varying the total pressure in the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor. This is evidenced by transmission electron microscopy and results in a shift in the light emission peak of the quantum dots. We show that the luminescence in our structures is attributed to the quantum confinement effect. These findings give a strong indication that the quality (density and size distribution) of Si QDs can be improved by optimizing the deposition parameters which opens a route to the fabrication of an all-Si tandem solar cell

Plasmon-induced enhancement of optical absorption in silicon thin films due to embedded silver nano-pillars

International audienceIn the literature, plasmonic nanostructure localization outside the silicon-based solar cells is mainly considered. In our paper, an array of rear-side–located silver nano-cylinders incorporated into a Si thin film is shown to ensure a significant enhancement of the absorbed power density in the near-infrared spectral range. Several different geometrical configurations ensuring high extinction enhancement factors are numerically investigated and compared in view of their application in silicon-based solar cells

Facile metallization of dielectric coatings for plasmonic solar cells

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Plasmon-enhanced nonlinear optical properties of SiC nanoparticles

An original plasmonic nano-Ag/SiNx substrate was elaborated to strongly enhance the nonlinear response of SiC NPs for the first time. A plasmon-induced two order of magnitude increase of second-harmonic generation and two-photon excited photoluminescence was experimentally achieved. The measured enhancement factors were correlated with local field intensities theoretically estimated by finite-difference time-domain calculations. The obtained plasmon-enhanced nonlinear response of the SiC nanostructures make them promising in nonlinear optics applications

Plasmon-enhanced nonlinear optical properties of SiC nanoparticles

International audienc

Facile metallization of dielectric coatings for plasmonic solar cells

International audienc